


laugh when it sinks in

by yousetmyheartonfire



Category: Dead Poets Society
Genre: Don’t worry the girls are GAY, Dumbass Rights, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Oneshot, Play Rehearsal, Running Lines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 01:03:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20381122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yousetmyheartonfire/pseuds/yousetmyheartonfire
Summary: Neil is jealous of how close two girls from play practice are, so he makes it his goal to get closer to Todd.





	laugh when it sinks in

__

There was this girl at play rehearsal that nobody knew too much about. Neil was pretty sure she went to the local public school, but she tended to be quiet and reserved around the rest of the cast. The only time he saw her talk to someone was when her friend would come by to help paint the set. The girl’s name was Giselle and she was playing the part of Cobweb. She barely had four lines but everyone in rehearsal was curious about her. She had a long face with deep, somber eyes most of the time. Then her friend, Connie, with her cherub face and big doe eyes would show up and she would light up. Giselle finally smiled and laughed. They were always backstage while the rest of the kids goofed off in the audience during breaks.

Once, Neil walked backstage to find his script and saw Giselle kissing Connie’s face while she laughed. He snuck out, pretending he hadn’t seen anything. He assumed that was just how girls were. They got to be so close with each other. It was almost unfair. 

He got back to Welton late that night, just barely making curfew. Todd was alone in their room, completely focused on whatever he was writing. Neil closed the door and Todd’s head snapped up. 

“Oh, hey. How was practice?” 

Neil sighed dramatically, falling onto his bed. He continued to gush about his newfound love of acting, waxing poetic about being able to live a million lives. Todd looked on, an affectionate smile tugging at his lips. 

Neil stood up after a minute. “I’m going to hit the showers.” 

“Work up a sweat reading those lines?” Todd joked. 

Neil smiled, rolling his eyes. He took a few steps, then looked back. He had that look about him like when he was about to propose some crazy scheme. He thought about Connie and Giselle and wondered for a moment why they could be so affectionate with each other. He shook his head, trying to get rid of that line of thinking. Todd raised a curious eyebrow. 

It was unlike Neil to think before he acted, so Todd was curious when he hesitated before walking out the door. He was hiding something, there was no doubt about it. 

Connie was running late the next day and Giselle sat alone backstage, thumbing through the script. Neil took the opportunity to introduce himself. 

“I know who you are, you’re playing Puck,” Giselle laughed. She introduced herself. 

“So you’re friends with Connie?” 

Giselle’s eyebrows shot up before she shook it off. “Yeah, do you know her?” 

“No, I’ve just seen you two hanging out. You’re very close.” 

She smiled, biting her bottom lip. “She’s my _best_ friend.” 

“I wish I was that close with my friends.”

“Well, why aren’t you?” She asked, running her fingers through her curly hair. 

He furrowed his eyebrows, a small smile on his face. “I don’t know.” 

Connie and Giselle would greet him at practice after that. 

Meanwhile, Neil realized that he wanted the type of friendship that the two girls had, where they were comfortable enough to do anything together. He found most of his thoughts coming back to Todd. They were roommates, so they shared a certain bond that comes with sleeping in the same room. They spent the most time together after all. 

So, he started to, gradually, get closer to Todd. He would intentionally brush him in the halls, bumping his shoulder when they walked to class together. It was casual enough that Todd couldn’t have noticed he was doing it more often. 

Surprisingly, he found that Todd ended up mirroring his actions. It was almost a gravitational pull toward each other. They sat just a little closer at the meetings in the cave, and brushed hands when they walked back to their room. When they did homework together alone in their shared space, they often ended up sitting on the same bed, knees touching and elbows bumping. 

One night before a particularly stressful Chemistry test, they both fell asleep studying in Todd’s bed. Neil was curled up by the footboard and leaning on Todd, their textbooks knocked to the ground. When they woke up in the morning, it wasn’t even awkward. It was just Neil and Todd. 

It was perfectly fine until they took the test. They left the classroom looking like they’d come from a war 

“Why did they have to put math in science? It’s so unfair! I hope I didn’t fail,” Neil complained all the way back to their room. 

“If you thought that test was hard, then I must have bombed it,” Todd agreed. 

Neil went to practice that night, seeking out the two girls. He found Connie sitting across Giselle’s lap. He waved and took a seat across from them. 

They talked for a minute about school and Neil found himself telling them about his roommate. Giselle and Connie shared a private smile, but Neil didn’t notice. 

It came as a pleasant surprise when they both passed. Neil was so excited, he kissed Todd’s cheek without a second thought before rushing off to rehearsal that night. Todd was completely dumbstruck. He sat there stunned minutes after the door slammed shit behind his energetic roommate. 

Neil, on the other hand, felt like he was on top of the world. When he walked into practice, he found the girls backstage as always. They were excitedly chatting when Connie leaned down and kissed her square on the lips. Neil didn’t even flinch. 

“Hey!” He called, walking towards them. 

They both jumped, and Connie looked ready to run. Giselle put a comforting hand over hers. “It’s okay, I think he knows.”

“Knows what?” Neil asked innocently. 

Giselle smiled, grabbing Connie’s hand. “That we’re dating.” 

Connie relaxed, but Neil’s eyes widened. “Oh.” 

Giselle blinked. “You did know, didn’t you?”

He smiled. “Of course,” he lied. 

“Oh,” Connie’s eyes lit up. “So can I finally ask about the boyfriend?” 

Neil’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What?”

“Your roommate, Todd?” Giselle supplied. 

“He’s not...” he trailed off, not able to speak over his internal turmoil. 

“Wait you aren’t dating him?” Connie asked politely. 

“No,” Neil didn’t mean to come off as disappointed. 

“Really? The way you talk about him, I thought...” 

Giselle sighed. “You fell for a straight boy. It happens to the best of us.” She launched into a story about how she had a crush on her friend from summer camp a few years back. “That all changed when I met Connie though.” She shot her a smile. 

“Oh my god,” Neil ran a nervous hand through his hair. He laughed anxiously. “I do like him, don’t I?”

Connie shook her head. “I can’t believe he’s straight.”

Giselle shrugged. “You’ll get over him soon enough.”

“I kissed him...” 

Connie perked up. “So he does like you!” 

Neil made a funny sound. “I don’t know.” 

“Wow, that’s bold.”

“Oh god,” Neil ran a hand down his face. “What if he freaks out?” 

Giselle gave him a comforting look. “I’m sure it’ll be okay. He doesn’t sound like the type to.” 

Neil went to say more, but he heard his name being called on stage. 

He took his time going back to school that night. He hoped that Todd would be asleep. Of course, he wasn’t.

“Hey,” Todd nearly squeaked, sitting up when Neil walked in. 

“Hey,” he answered taking off his jacket. He gave him a small, polite smile to hide the fact that he was panicking inside. 

“Uh, how was practice?” 

“It’s getting more busy with the show coming up in a few weeks,” Neil explained while shifting around his space, decluttering his desk. It gave him something else to focus on. 

“Do you need to run lines?” 

Neil looked over at him for the first time since he got back. He was picking at his nails anxiously. Neil smiled, “That would be great!” 

“Where’s your script?” 

Neil blinked. Oh, he meant now. He grabbed it from his desk and handed it to Todd, making sure their fingers didn’t brush. 

“Beg of her for remedy,” Todd read aloud. 

Neil smiled. “Captain of our fairy band, Helena is here at hand; And the youth, mistook by me, Pleading for a lover's fee. Shall we their fond pageant see? Lord, what fools these mortals be!” He stood up, putting on a performance for the quiet room. 

Todd looked up at him. “Kiss me.” 

Neil wrinkled his nose, grabbing the script. He flipped to the next page, eyebrows knitting together. “It doesn’t say that.” 

Todd grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes. “Kiss me.” He complied without any hesitation.

Connie and Giselle were overjoyed when he announced at the next practice that he did, in fact, have a boyfriend now. 

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back! This is... the definition of mlm/wlw solidarity. Lmfao anyways this gave me intense play rehearsal nostalgia. Oh and I totally took the OFC names from Mona Lisa Smile lol.


End file.
